


Fishy Business

by MiniNephthys



Category: 1bitHeart (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 03:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4812971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikado and Nanashi keep pet fish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fishy Business

At the end of the first week of Nanashi living with Mikado, they got a fish.

It was Nanashi’s idea, more or less. Mikado had started the conversation by asking, “How do you feel about living here?”

“It’s fun! I get to do whatever I want, basically, and I don’t have any homework or anything to keep me from playing video games!” After a moment, Nanashi’s face faltered in that ‘I have something that’s upsetting me but I don’t want to mention it in case it’s a bother to you’ kind of way.

“Something else on your mind?” Mikado asked.

“Well… It’s just that you’re out of the apartment a lot, and I’m not used to being alone. But, but that’s okay!” Nanashi added. “I’m fourteen years old and I can look after myself now!”

“I see. So you’re lonely without anyone to talk to.” Mikado hummed, thinking the problem over. “Unfortunately, I have work to do, so I can’t be around all the time. Is there anything else that I can do to help you settle in?”

“...What if we got a fish?” asked Nanashi.

Mikado raised an eyebrow. “Why a fish in particular? They’re not especially cuddly pets.”

“I know, but dogs and cats and hamsters all hate me. Fish wouldn’t care, though! And I could at least talk to them like I was talking to another person.” Nanashi rubbed the back of his neck. “It sounds really pathetic when I put it that way…”

“It’s fine,” said Mikado, and he lightly pat Nanashi on the head. “If you promise you’ll remember to feed it every day, we can go out and buy you a fish.”

“I promise! Definitely promise!”

At the pet shop, Nanashi picked out a ranchu goldfish. On the way home he named it Suki, because he liked the name. Suki got an aquarium all to herself, which they put up on the wall in Mikado’s room because it was more spacious than Nanashi’s room, and anyway, that wall was looking empty. It was a bit high to reach for Nanashi, but Mikado brought it down for him when he wasn’t home, so that Nanashi could take care of Suki himself.

Nanashi remembered to feed Suki every day. He didn’t have many other responsibilities, so he put extra effort into this one, and Suki grew to be a fat and contented goldfish. He talked to Suki while Mikado was out, or so he said when Mikado asked him about it.

Sometimes Mikado caught himself talking to Suki too. Nothing incriminating, of course. It’d been shown by other programmers that trying to explain how your code works in words made it easier to find the problems in it, and talking to something was easier than talking to empty air.

They bought a few more fish on Nanashi’s suggestion that Suki might have been lonely. Nanashi diligently fed those fish, changed their water, and checked their temperature as he was supposed to.

One of their fish passed away despite Nanashi’s best efforts. They held a small funeral for her: obviously there was no way to bury her, living in an apartment building, but they at least could pay their last respects.

After clearing his throat, Mikado said, “Kokoro was a very well-behaved fish. She never fought with the other fish, or shoved anyone out of the way trying to get to food. Most importantly, she kept Nanashi company when I was away. She will be dearly missed.”

“Kokoro was a good fish,” said Nanashi. “She was Mikado’s favorite fish, and he talked to her the most. And big bro doesn’t have a lot of people to talk to, so! I’ll miss her, but I’ll especially be sad that Mikado won’t have her to talk to anymore!”

Mikado patted Nanashi’s head gently. “I can just talk to you more. The fish are good listeners, but I like you more than all of them.”


End file.
